You won’t want to miss Tales From The End of the Earth, a symposium on March 6th, 2024, at the Archer Library. This even will include a presentation of the 2002 book Antarctica by the photographers and publishers, Pat and Rosemarie Keough. They will share their experiences while visiting the continent over a two-year period which resulted in the stunning photographs found in their celebrated book.
There will also be presentations about the polar regions from University of Regina faculty members Lindsey French, Dr. Risa Horowitz, Dr. Samantha Lawler & Dr. Karla McManus.
February is Aboriginal Storytelling Month, and the Archer Library and Archives is pleased to be a co-presenter of White Feather: Intergenerational Stories Past, Present & Future, on Feb. 15th, 2024, featuring Sundance Robson. This year the event will be in the Shumiatcher Open Stage, Riddell Centre, University of Regina. Admission is free.
The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) and the Dr. John Archer Library and Archives are pleased to announce that approximately 200 issues of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly (RCMP Quarterly) dating from 1933 to 2000 have been added to the Canadiana collection. The collection was digitized and made available by CRKN from issues held at the Dr. John Archer Library and Archives, with permission from the RCMP Veterans Association.
The journal, published by the RCMP since 1933, includes RCMP news, articles on the history and practices of the RCMP, accounts of social events and ceremonies, personal essays by RCMP members, and much more. The collection is a valuable resource for researchers interested in the history of the RCMP and policing in Canada, as well as those researching family members who served in the RCMP.
This collection is the second digitization project CRKN has undertaken with the University of Regina, following the addition of a series of student publications added to Canadiana in 2023. It is also another significant addition of content from member libraries to Canadiana.
Did you make a New Year’s resolution for 2024? How is that going?
In 2023, Statistics Canada found that common resolutions included exercising, eating healthier, cutting down spending, disconnecting from social media, and reducing alcohol intake. Out of these resolutions, cutting back on alcohol definitely gets the most media coverage as many Canadians partake in “Dry January” at the start of the year and “Sober October” near the end of the year.
According to an Ipsos survey of Canadians in 2023, Dry January is most popular among Gen Z with 46% of Gen Z respondents saying they participated in the event and slightly popular with Milennial (20%) and Gen X (19%) participants. There’s currently no openly available Canadian data, but in 2021 the US company Knit conducted consumer research asking Gen Z about why they participated in Dry January. The top reason for both male and female participants was health and wellness (71.4% for males and 50% for females). The next reason was to save money (71.4% males, 42% females). Number 3 was to cut back on consumptions (57.1% for males, 33% for females). An interesting statistic was 33% of female participants listed participating in Dry January “for the challenge.” Based on these reasons, Dry January as a resolution does align with the top concerns when people enter a New Year – get healthier and save money.
If your resolution has become a case of “best laid plans” then don’t worry! You aren’t alone. A 2020 study by Oscarsson, Calbring, Andersson, and Rozental found that one year after setting a resolution goal, only 55% of participants considered themselves to be successful. The study found that approach-oriented goals (e.g. “I will increase the amount of time I exercise”) were more successful than avoidance-oriented goals (e.g. “I will stop eating Takis”). Social support also plays a key role in goal success as being held accountable and receiving positive reinforcement and praise increase enthusiasm and motivation. So, if you are struggling with your resolution, try reworking your goal and considering telling others about it.
It’s #ACAHashtagParty time again at the Association of Canadian Archivists. We had fun finding these Science Show promo posters in our holdings to line up with today’s theme, #ArchivesScience. A fixture in the U of R’s events calendar for many years, the Science Shows invited the public to engage with the institution’s science-related departments through a variety of exhibits and experiments.
Image Credits: University of Regina Archives. Oversize Ephemerae (Faculty of Science). Science Show Posters, 1977-1991.
Join the University of Regina Anti-Oppression Book Club, hosted by the Archer Library, for the Winter 2024 semester! The theme for February is “Celebrating Black Voices: A Literary Journey for Black History Month.”
The book selection for February is the poetry collection Earth Skin by Peace Akintade. There are two Zoom meetings available: February 1st and February 15th, both 2:00-3:00 pm and both facilitated by Librarian Mary Chipanshi.
We are also excited that Peace Akintade will visit the Archer Library for a Meet-the-Author event on February 22, 2024. This is a hybrid event (Zoom and in-library) where Akintade will read from Earth Skin and have a conversation with Mary Chipanshi.
The Dr. John Archer Library & Archives invites students, staff and faculty to participate in the 2024 “Blind Date with a Book” contest, which runs from January 22nd to February 21st and aims to pair a reader with their perfect book.
Visit the display in the Archer Library with wrapped books (fiction, novels, poetry, plays and non-fiction) about Black history and by Black authors. Pick your “blind date” and sign it out at the Help Desk. Participants can enter to win one of three prize packs of books generously donated by the University of Regina Press.
On February 22nd, 2024, the author Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye will speak at the Archer Library and during this event the winners of the contest will be announced.
The Dr. George F. Ledingham Herbarium Collection is now live online via the Library’s website. Dr. Ledingham (1911-2006) established a Herbarium at the University of Regina (then Regina College) in 1945. Under his direction, the collection grew to include an incredible 70,000 plant specimens and a rich legacy of other records (including journals, photographic materials and birding records).
The Herbarium Collection currently features two subcollections: Dr. Ledingham’s journals, which were digitized by Mariko Sawa (Archives Honours Student), and Dr. Ledingham’s records of birds, digitized by Mason Hauserman (Archives Arts Intern).
The next meeting of the Archer Book Club will be on January 31st, 2024, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm, with this month’s selection being the classic Gothic novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film of the same name was based on this book and would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Thanks to Veronica Ramshaw, Film Librarian at Archer Libraries and Archives for assisting with the research for this blog!
It’s December. It’s dark and cold, but also many of us will be celebrating secular or religious holidays. What better way to celebrate the holidays than embracing hygge, grabbing a hot chocolate or other delicious, warm beverage, and watching a holiday movie? After all, December is when holiday movies, primarily Christmas movies, take over cable TV, streaming, and theatrical releases. So let’s talk about holiday movies and what is, or isn’t a Christmas movie.
With this in mind, let’s discuss a very important question: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
All these surveys featured a variation of the question “Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? If you have not seen or do not know the movie answer ‘I don’t know’.”
My heart breaks to see this data, so let’s dive into what is or isn’t a Christmas movie.
There’s no clear-cut definition of a Christmas movie, and a lot of the debate is focused on opinion, but I was able to find some core themes of Christmas movies from articles from The Hollywood Reporter, CBC, the Unspooled podcast, and an interview with critic Craig Outhier. I also asked our Film Librarian to do a quick search for scholarly articles, but most of what we found focused on the sub-genre of Hallmark style Christmas movies. It’s important to realize that despite the Hallmark style Holiday movie machine producing highly formulaic stories focusing on love, romance, nostalgia, and good fuzzy feelings, traditional or classic Christmas movies do not fall into those themes. After all, A Christmas Carol is a ghost story.
So, an unofficial, almost entirely opinion-based list of common themes in Christmas movies:
Must include a Christmas setting at some point during the film
Meaningful use of Christmas in the film – often described as “Could the plot be described without Christmas and still make sense?”
Characters going through a transformation
Reunion with family
Opinions will vary, but to me, Die Hard is my go-to holiday movie. It’s got action, humour, romance, family drama, and of course Alan Rickman. However, does it fit into our Christmas movie themes list?
Christmas Movie Theme
Die Hard
Christmas Setting
Yes, takes place at the Christmas party on Christmas Eve
Meaningful Use of Christmas in the Film
Yes, Christmas enhances the plot and emotional arcs of the characters
Characters go through a transformation
Yes
Reunion with family
Yes
So there you have it. Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
If you haven’t seen Die Hard or want to rewatch this holiday classic, you can access it through the Archer Library and Archives Criterion on Demand Database or borrow a physical copy from Regina Public Library.
